Battery Module, Battery Pack Comprising Battery Module and Vehicle Comprising Battery Pack

ABSTRACT

A battery module includes a battery cell assembly having a plurality of battery cells, a sensing assembly which covers a front and rear of the battery cell assembly when mounted thereto, a module case which receives the battery cell assembly and the mounted sensing assembly, and a thermally conductive adhesive interposed between an upper inner surface of the module case and an upper side of the battery cell assembly. The sensing assembly includes a first busbar frame assembly positioned at the front of the battery cell assembly, a second busbar frame assembly positioned at the rear of the battery cell assembly, and a sensing wire which connects the first and second busbar frame assemblies and runs across the upper side of the battery cell assembly in a diagonal direction. The thermally conductive adhesive is disposed on two sides of the sensing wire.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.16/625,415, filed on Dec. 20, 2019, which is a national phase entryunder 35 U.S.C. § 371 of International Application No. PCT/KR2019/001999filed Feb. 19, 2019, which claims priority from Korean PatentApplication No. 10-2018-0029211, filed on Mar. 13, 2018, the disclosuresof which are incorporated herein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to a battery module, a battery packcomprising the battery module and a vehicle comprising the battery pack.

BACKGROUND ART

Due to their frequent applicability to various products and theirelectrical properties such as a high energy density, secondary batteriesare not only commonly applied to portable devices, but universallyapplied to Electric Vehicles (EVs) or Hybrid Electric Vehicles (HEVs)that are driven by an electric driving source. Secondary batteries aregaining attention for their primary advantage of remarkably reducing theuse of fossil fuels and not generating by-products from the use ofenergy, making them a new eco-friendly and energy efficient source ofenergy.

Currently, commonly used secondary batteries include lithium ionbatteries, lithium polymer batteries, nickel cadmium batteries, nickelhydrogen batteries and nickel zinc batteries. A unit secondary batterycell, or a unit battery cell, has a working voltage of about 2.5V-4.5V.Accordingly, in cases where higher output voltage is required, aplurality of battery cells may be connected in series to form a batterypack. Additionally, a battery pack may be formed by connecting aplurality of battery cells in parallel based on the charge/dischargecapacity required for the battery pack. Accordingly, the number ofbattery cells included in the battery pack may be variously set based onthe output voltage or charge/discharge capacity required.

Meanwhile, in cases where a battery pack is formed by connecting batterycells in series/in parallel, it is common to form a battery pack byforming a battery module including at least one battery cell and thenadding other components using at least one battery module.

In the case of the conventional battery module, with the increasingbattery capacity required, the importance of technology for efficientlycooling heat generated from the battery cell is gradually increasing.

For efficient cooling, the conventional battery module introduces astructure in which a thermally conductive adhesive is applied onto thelower inner surface of a module case or the upper side of a coolingplate to stably fix a battery cell assembly including at least onebattery cell to the lower inner surface of the module case or the upperside of the cooling plate and improve thermal conductivity.

However, in the conventional battery module, the location for applyingthe thermally conductive adhesive is limited to the lower inner surfaceof the module case or the upper side of the cooling plate. Because aseparate component such as a voltage sensing line is disposed on thebattery cell assembly, it is difficult to uniformly apply the thermallyconductive adhesive over the entire battery cell assembly near thecomponent. Accordingly, conventionally, there is a limitation that theonly cooling structure that is possible is through the lower side of thebattery cell assembly, which makes it impossible to design devices usingthe battery module or respond to design changes, and when coolingperformance through the lower side of the battery cell assembly isinsufficient, it is difficult to improve the cooling performance.

DISCLOSURE Technical Problem

Accordingly, the present disclosure is designed to solve theabove-described problem, and the present disclosure is directed toproviding a battery module that is cooled using a thermally conductiveadhesive and allows a cooling structure through the upper side of thebattery cell assembly, a battery pack comprising the battery module anda vehicle comprising the battery pack.

These and other objects and advantages of the present disclosure will beunderstood by the following description and will be apparent from theembodiments of the present disclosure. Further, it will be readilyunderstood that the objects and advantages of the present disclosure arerealized by the means set forth in the appended claims and combinationsthereof.

Technical Solution

To solve the above-described problem, the present disclosure provides abattery module including a battery cell assembly including a pluralityof battery cells, a sensing assembly which covers the front and rear ofthe battery cell assembly, a module case which receives the battery cellassembly having the sensing assembly mounted thereto, and a thermallyconductive adhesive interposed between an upper inner surface of themodule case and an upper side of the battery cell assembly. The sensingassembly includes a first busbar frame assembly positioned in front ofthe battery cell assembly, a second busbar frame assembly positioned atthe rear of the battery cell assembly, facing the first busbar frameassembly, and a sensing wire which connects the first and second busbarframe assemblies and runs across the upper side of the battery cellassembly in a diagonal direction. The thermally conductive adhesive isdisposed on two sides of the sensing wire.

The module case may further include a top plate which covers the upperside of the battery cell assembly, a bottom plate which is positionedfacing the top plate, and covers a lower side of the battery cellassembly, a pair of side plates which are coupled to the top plate andthe bottom plate and are positioned on two sides of the battery cellassembly, a first opening and a second opening which are open to twolengthwise direction sides of the battery cells, a front cover which iscoupled to the first opening of the module case and covers the front ofthe battery cell assembly, and a rear cover which is coupled to thesecond opening of the module case and covers the rear of the batterycell assembly.

The sensing wire may be provided as a flexible printed circuit board(FPCB). In this instance, the battery module may further include a topcover which covers the flexible printed circuit board. The top cover mayhave a hook at each of two ends, the first busbar frame assembly and thesecond busbar frame assembly may have fixing holes for insertion of thehooks, and the hooks may be coupled to the fixing holes.

The battery module may further include injection holes on the modulecase to inject the thermally conductive adhesive into the module case,the injection holes being provided on two sides of an area correspondingto the sensing wire. In this instance, the injection holes may be aplurality of injection holes provided in parallel along a directionwhich forms an angle of 0 to 30° with a direction in which the sensingwire runs.

The injection holes may have a sloped chamfer on one side.

The present disclosure further provides a battery pack including atleast one battery module according to the present disclosure, and a packcase which packages the at least one battery module.

The present disclosure further provides a vehicle including at least onebattery pack according to the present disclosure.

Advantageous Effects

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided abattery module using a tubular rectangular monoframe type module case,not a conventional cell cartridge. Due to not using a conventional cellcartridge to which the edge of the battery cell is inserted and fixed bypress-fit as conventionally, the tolerance in the design of the entirebattery module increases, and it is possible to solve the conventionalproblem with the transmission of impacts or vibration to the edge of thebattery cell, which may occur during mounting when the edge of thebattery cell is inserted into the cell cartridge. The battery module andthe battery pack can protect the battery cell from external vibrationvery well, and thus they are advantageous in the application of vehiclesthat are frequently exposed to external vibration.

According to another aspect of the present disclosure, assembly of thebattery module can be easily performed, resulting in high processefficiency. Additionally, the battery module may not include a sealingcomponent such as an O-ring, a cooling component such as a cooling fin,or a reinforcing or fixing component such as a cartridge, thus reducingthe number of components of the battery module. Accordingly, accordingto this aspect of the present disclosure, it is possible to reduce theproduction cost and time and the weight, thereby improving productivityof the battery module.

According to still another aspect of the present disclosure, it ispossible to uniformly apply a thermally conductive adhesive over theentire upper side of the battery cell assembly. Accordingly, the coolingstructure through the lower side and the upper side of the battery cellassembly is possible. According to the present disclosure, becausecooling through the upper side of the battery cell assembly is possible,it is easy to design devices using the battery module or respond todesign changes, and when cooling performance through the lower side ofthe battery cell assembly is insufficient, it is possible to improve thecooling performance.

According to yet another aspect of the present disclosure, because thethermally conductive adhesive is applied to the upper side of thebattery cell assembly, it is possible to fix the battery cell to themodule case more firmly, and firmly fix the position of the battery cellagainst impacts.

According to a further aspect of the present disclosure, in the batterymodule that is cooled using the thermally conductive adhesive, thethermally conductive adhesive injection efficiency can be increased.

As described above, the present disclosure can provide a simple andcompact battery module that does not make the entire structure of thebattery pack complex and does not occupy much space, and which achievesfirm fixation between the battery cell and the module case, and whichcontributes to the cooling performance improvement. Further, the presentdisclosure can provide a battery pack comprising the battery module anda vehicle comprising the battery pack.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings illustrate a preferred embodiment of thepresent disclosure, and together with the detailed description of thepresent disclosure described below, serve to provide a furtherunderstanding of the technical aspects of the present disclosure, andthus the present disclosure should not be construed as being limited tothe drawings.

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view illustrating a battery moduleaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 is an assembled perspective view of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a sensing assembly included in thebattery module of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a top view of the sensing assembly of FIG. 3.

FIGS. 5a to 5c are enlarged perspective views showing a structure inwhich a top cover is coupled to a first busbar frame assembly in thesensing assembly of FIG. 3.

FIG. 6 is a top view of the battery module of FIG. 1 before a top coverof a sensing assembly is coupled thereto.

FIG. 7 is a top view of the battery module of FIG. 1 after a top coverof a sensing assembly is coupled to it.

FIG. 8 is a top view of the battery module of FIG. 1 after a thermallyconductive adhesive is applied to the upper side of the battery cellassembly.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view illustrating a battery module according toanother embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 10 is a top view of the battery module of FIG. 9.

FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view of main parts illustrating injectionholes of the battery module of FIG. 9.

FIG. 12 is an enlarged diagram of section C in FIG. 11.

FIG. 13 is a top view of a comparative example battery module.

FIG. 14 is a cross-sectional view showing lower side cooling structureof the battery module of FIG. 13.

FIG. 15 is a cross-sectional view showing upper side and lower sidecooling structures of an experimental battery module of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating a battery pack according to anembodiment of the present disclosure.

MODE FOR DISCLOSURE

Hereinafter, the preferred embodiments of the present disclosure will bedescribed in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Priorto the description, it should be understood that the terms or words usedin the specification and the appended claims should not be construed aslimited to general and dictionary meanings, but interpreted based on themeanings and concepts corresponding to the technical aspects of thepresent disclosure, on the basis of the principle that the inventor isallowed to define terms appropriately for the best explanation.

Therefore, the embodiments described herein and illustrations shown inthe drawings are just a most preferred embodiment of the presentdisclosure, but not intended to fully describe the technical aspects ofthe present disclosure, so it should be understood that otherequivalents and modifications could have been made thereto at the timethe application was filed.

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view illustrating a battery moduleaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure, and FIG. 2 is anassembled perspective view of FIG. 1.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the battery module 10 may include a batterycell assembly 100, a sensing assembly 200, a module case 300 andthermally conductive adhesives 400, 500.

The battery cell assembly 100 may include a plurality of battery cells110. The plurality of battery cells 110 may be stacked such that theymay be electrically connected to one another. Here, electrode leads 120of the plurality of battery cells 110 may be electrically connected tothe sensing assembly 200.

The sensing assembly 200 covers the front and rear of the battery cellassembly 100. The sensing assembly 200 may be electrically connected tothe battery cell assembly 100, and may sense the voltage or temperatureof the battery cell assembly 100. Additionally, the sensing assembly 200may be connected to an external power source.

The sensing assembly 200 serves to transmit sensing information of theelectrical properties of the battery cell assembly 100 such as voltageto another device (not shown) outside of the battery module 10. Forexample, the battery module 10 may include a device such as a BatteryManagement System (BMS) connected thereto, and may be configured tocontrol the operation of the battery module 10 such as charging ordischarging. In this instance, the sensing assembly 200 may be connectedto the BMS and provide the sensed voltage information of the batterycell assembly 100 to the BMS, and the BMS may control the battery module10 based on the information.

The sensing assembly 200 includes a first busbar frame assembly 210positioned in front of the battery cell assembly 100, a second busbarframe assembly 220 positioned at the rear of the battery cell assembly100 facing the first busbar frame assembly 210, and a sensing wire 230connecting the first busbar frame assembly 210 and the second busbarframe assembly 220, and running across the upper side of the batterycell assembly 100 in a diagonal direction.

The first busbar frame assembly 210 includes a busbar 212 and a frame214. The second busbar frame assembly 220 also includes a busbar 222 anda frame 224.

The busbar frame assemblies 210, 220 of the sensing assembly 200 may bemounted in exposed parts of the electrode leads 120 of the plurality ofbattery cells 110 so that they may be electrically connected to theelectrode leads 120 of the plurality of battery cells 110, and thebattery module 10 of this embodiment includes pouch-type secondarybatteries each having the positive electrode lead and the negativeelectrode lead protruding in two directions, and thus a pair of busbarframe assemblies 210, 220 are respectively mounted in front of and atthe rear of the battery cell assembly 100.

Here, the busbar frame assemblies 210, 220 are detachably coupled to thecorresponding sides of the battery cell assembly 100, and they areconfigured to cover the entire side of the battery cell assembly 100.When the busbar frame assemblies 210, 220 and the battery cell assembly100 are coupled together, the battery cell assembly 100 may beintegrally supported by the busbar frame assemblies 210, 220.

The module case 300 has an empty space inside. The module case 300receives the battery cell assembly 100 having the mounted sensingassembly 200 therein. The module case 300 is provided with at least onesurface being open, to insert the battery cell assembly 100 through theopen part. The module case 300 may be provided in a rectangular cuboidshape on the whole. In an example, the module case 300 may be providedin the shape of a tubular rectangle with two opposing sides being open.

The module case 300 is made of a thermally conductive material and mayserve to absorb heat of the battery cell assembly 100 and radiate theheat outward. The module case 300 may be made of metal. Because themetal has good thermal conductivity, the module case 300 may perform theheat radiation function in whole. For the material of the module case300, all metals may be used, but when considering thermal conductivity,processing and cost, it is desirable to use SUS- or aluminum-basedmaterials.

The module case 300 may include a top plate 310 that covers the upperside of the battery cell assembly 100. To this end, the top plate 310may have a size and shape that can fully cover the upper side of thebattery cell assembly 100. The module case 300 may include a bottomplate 320 that is positioned facing the top plate 310, and covers thelower side of the battery cell assembly 100. The bottom plate 320 may beprovided in generally the same shape as the top plate 310, and maystably support the battery cell assembly 100. The module case 300 mayinclude a pair of side plates 330 that are coupled to the top plate 310and the bottom plate 320, and are positioned on two sides of the batterycell assembly 100. The pair of side plates 330 may have the same shapeand size, facing each other.

The module case 300 includes the top plate 310, the bottom plate 320 andthe side plates 330, forming a first opening OA and a second opening OBthat are open to two sides of the battery cells 110 in a lengthwisedirection. The top plate 310, the bottom plate 320 and the side plates330 may be connected by welding. For example, the top plate 310, thebottom plate 320 and the side plates 330 may be welded on the sides byfriction stir welding such that their ends do not overlap and theiredges come into contact with each other. In another example, the topplate 310, the bottom plate 320 and the side plates 330 may be bonded toone other, may be integrally formed, or may be coupled together with ahinge structure. As described above, the module case 300 may be amonoframe.

The bottom plate 320 may further include a guide structure on the uppersurface to insert and fix the battery cell assembly 100. The guidestructure and the battery cells 110 may be coupled in a sliding manner.That is, part of the battery cells 110 may be inserted and coupled tothe guide structure. For example, a sealing part of the battery cells110 may be inserted into the guide structure. A plurality of guidestructures may be provided in the form of grooves. The number of theguide structures may correspond to the number of the battery cells 110.When the battery cell 110 is inserted into the guide structure, it ispossible to support the battery cell 110 more stably.

In the assembly process, the battery cell assembly 100 having themounted sensing assembly 200 is received in the module case 300 throughthe first opening OA of the module case 300. In this instance, thethermally conductive adhesive 400 may be applied to the upper side ofthe battery cell assembly 100, and the other thermally conductiveadhesive 500 may be applied to the lower side of the battery cellassembly 100, and then the battery cell assembly 100 may be received inthe module case 300. In another embodiment as described below, after theassembly process is completed, a thermally conductive adhesive may beinjected into the module case 300 to form the thermally conductiveadhesives 400, 500.

After the battery cell assembly 100 is received in the module case 300,a front cover 340 is coupled to the first opening OA of the module case300 and covers the front of the battery cell assembly 100. The frontcover 340 may be coupled to the first busbar frame assembly 210. Thefront cover 340 may form the front side of the battery module 10.Additionally, after the battery cell assembly 100 is received in themodule case 300, a rear cover 350 is coupled to the second opening OB ofthe module case 300 and covers the rear of the battery cell assembly100. The rear cover 350 may be coupled to the second busbar frameassembly 220. The rear cover 350 may form the rear side of the batterymodule 10.

The front cover 340 and the rear cover 350 may be positioned in front ofand at the rear of the top plate 310 and the bottom plate 320, and coverthe front and rear of the battery cell assembly 100. The front cover 340and the rear cover 350 may be welded or bonded to the module case 300.Alternatively, the front cover 340 and the rear cover 350 may bedetachably coupled to the module case 300.

As described above, the battery module 10 uses the tubular rectangularmonoframe type module case 300, not a conventional cell cartridge. Dueto not using a conventional cell cartridge to which the edge of thebattery cell is inserted and fixed by press-fit, the tolerance in thedesign of the entire battery module 10 increases, and it is possible tosolve the conventional problem with the transmission of impacts orvibration to the edge of the battery cell, which may occur duringmounting when the edge of the battery cell is inserted into the cellcartridge. The battery module 10 and the battery pack including the samecan protect the battery cell from external vibration very well, and thusthey are advantageous in the application of vehicles that are frequentlyexposed to external vibration.

Additionally, the battery module 10 is completed by receiving thebattery cell assembly 100 through the opening of the module case 300,followed by a simple operation of closing the openings on two sides. Asdescribed above, assembly of the battery module 10 can be easilyperformed, resulting in high process efficiency. Additionally, thebattery module 10 may not include a sealing component such as an O-ring,a cooling component such as a cooling fin, or a reinforcing or fixingcomponent such as a cartridge, thus reducing the number of components ofthe battery module 10. Accordingly, it is possible to reduce theproduction cost and time and the weight, thereby improving productivityof the battery module 10.

The thermally conductive adhesive 400 is interposed between the upperinner surface of the module case 300, i.e., the bottom of the top plate310 and the upper side of the battery cell assembly 100. The thermallyconductive adhesive 400 is disposed on two sides of the sensing wire230. There is no example of conventional art in which the thermallyconductive adhesive is uniformly applied to an upper side of the batterycell assembly in which a separate component such as a voltage sensingline is disposed.

The thermally conductive adhesive 400 is a cooling adhesive that allowsheat transfer, and may include thermal resin. The thermal resin is notlimited to a particular type, but may be one of a thermally conductivesilicone-based bond, a thermally conductive acrylic bond and a thermallyconductive polyurethane bond.

In this embodiment, the additional thermally conductive adhesive 500 maybe interposed between the lower inner surface of the module case 300,i.e., the upper surface of the bottom plate 320 and the lower side ofthe battery cell assembly 100.

As described above, the thermally conductive adhesive can be uniformlyapplied over the upper side of the battery cell assembly 100.Accordingly, the cooling structure through the lower side as well as theupper side of the battery cell assembly 100 is possible. According tothe present disclosure, because cooling through the upper side of thebattery cell assembly 100 is possible, it is easy to design devicesusing the battery module 10 or respond to design changes, and whencooling performance through the lower side of the battery cell assembly100 is insufficient, it is possible to improve the cooling performance.In addition, because the thermally conductive adhesive 400 is applied tothe upper side of the battery cell assembly 100, it is possible to fixthe battery cells 110 to the module case 300 more firmly, and firmly fixthe position of the battery cells 110 against impacts.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the sensing assembly included in thebattery module of FIG. 1, FIG. 4 is a top view of the sensing assemblyof FIG. 3, and FIGS. 5a to 5c are enlarged perspective views showing thestructure in which the top cover is coupled to the first busbar frameassembly in the sensing assembly of FIG. 3.

Further referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, as described previously, the sensingassembly 200 includes the first busbar frame assembly 210, the secondbusbar frame assembly 220, and the sensing wire 230. The sensing wire230 connects the first busbar frame assembly 210 and the second busbarframe assembly 220. The sensing wire 230 may be provided as a flexibleprinted circuit board (FPCB). The FPCB includes printed circuits on aboard of an electrical insulating material, and extends elongatedly in arectangular strip shape. In this case, the sensing assembly 200 mayfurther include a top cover 240 that covers the flexible printed circuitboard.

The first busbar frame assembly 210 may be positioned in front of thebattery cell assembly 100, and may be coupled with the front cover 340.The first busbar frame assembly 210 may be electrically connected to theelectrode leads 120 of the battery cells 110 of the battery cellassembly 100. To this end, the first busbar frame assembly 210 isequipped with a plurality of busbars 212 electrically contacting andconnected to the electrode leads 120 of the battery cells 110, andincludes a frame 214 that supports the busbars 212 and includes anexternal connector or an input/output terminal. The frame 214 may bemade of reinforced plastic having electrical insulation and impactresistance.

The second busbar frame assembly 220 and the first busbar frame assembly210 may be positioned facing each other with the battery cell assembly100 interposed between, and the second busbar frame assembly 220 may becoupled with the rear cover 350 at the rear of the battery cell assembly100. The second busbar frame assembly 220 may be electrically connectedto the electrode leads 120 of the battery cells 110 of the battery cellassembly 100. To this end, the second busbar frame assembly 220 isequipped with a plurality of busbars 222 electrically contacting andconnected to the electrode leads 120 of the battery cells 110, andincludes a frame 224 that supports the busbars 222, and includes anexternal connector or an input/output terminal. The frame 224 may bemade of reinforced plastic having electrical insulation and impactresistance.

The frames 214, 224 may serve as an isolation plate that covers at leastparts of the busbars 212, 222 to electrically isolate at least parts ofthe busbars 212, 222. A BMS electrically connected to the sensingassembly 200 may be further included on the frames 214, 224.

The sensing wire 230 runs across the upper side of the battery cellassembly 100 in a diagonal direction. Accordingly, the sensing wire 230is placed on the upper side of all the battery cells 110 that form thebattery cell assembly 100. Because the sensing wire 230 is notpositioned at a certain place, the thermally conductive adhesive 400formed on two sides of the sensing wire 230 may be uniformly formed overall the battery cells 110. It will be described with reference to FIGS.6 to 8 below.

FIGS. 5a to 5c show the coupling relationship between the top cover 240and the first busbar frame assembly 210 in detail.

A faulty operation of the sensing wire during assembly directly impactsrelated, and when the coating is torn, the sensing wire is no longerinsulated or a short may occur. Accordingly, the top cover 240 isapplied as a packaging structure that protects the sensing wire 230.Additionally, the sensing wire 230 such as FPCB is not rigid, and may bedifficult to use and confine. Thus, the top cover 240 of a plasticinjection molding material such as PI is applied to ensure rigidity ofthe sensing wire 230.

Referring to FIGS. 5a to 5c , the top cover 240 has a hook 242 at twoends, and the first busbar frame assembly 210, in particular the frame214, has fixing holes 216 for insertion of the hooks. When the hooks 242are coupled to the fixing holes 216, the top cover 240 and the firstbusbar frame assembly 210 are coupled together. The same couplingrelationship exists between the top cover 240 and the second busbarframe assembly 220. The coupling structure between the hooks 242 and thefixing holes 216 is easy to couple and decouple, and it also serves as asort of hinge, thereby fully providing a process margin in theoperation.

The battery module 10 of the present disclosure is characterized in thatthe thermally conductive adhesive 400 can be formed on the upper side ofthe battery cell assembly 100, due to a change in the sensing assembly200. The sensing assembly 200 features the sensing wire 230 positionedacross the upper side of the battery cell assembly 100 in a diagonaldirection. Referring to FIGS. 6 to 8, the unique markedly superioreffect of this placement will be described.

FIG. 6 is a top view of the battery module of FIG. 1 before the topcover of the sensing assembly is coupled thereto; FIG. 7 is a top viewof the battery module of FIG. 1 after the top cover of the sensingassembly is coupled to it; and FIG. 8 is a top view of the batterymodule of FIG. 1 after the thermally conductive adhesive is applied tothe upper side of the battery cell assembly.

First, referring to FIG. 6, as described previously, the sensing wire230 connecting the first busbar frame assembly 210 and the second busbarframe assembly 220 is placed across the upper side of the battery cellassembly 100 in a diagonal direction. The sensing wire 230 is notpositioned at a certain place with respect to the battery cells 110 thatform the battery cell assembly 100, and it runs all over the upper sideof the battery cell assembly 100. Most preferably, the sensing wire 230runs over all the battery cells 110, or is positioned in perfectsymmetry with respect to the sensing wire 230. From the perspective ofthe battery cell assembly 100, the battery cells 110 that form thebattery cell assembly 100 are placed in almost similar environments. Theenvironment in which each battery cell is placed does not changedepending on the position of the battery cells, such as the case inwhich the sensing wire runs over some battery cells but does not runover some other battery cells. Accordingly, it is possible to use thebattery cells 110 that form the battery cell assembly 100 whilemaintaining their properties.

Referring to FIG. 7, the top cover 240 covers the sensing wire 230. Asthe top cover 240 is a packaging structure that protects the sensingwire 230, the top cover 240 is placed across the upper surface of thebattery cell assembly 100 in a diagonal direction along the placement ofthe sensing wire 230.

Subsequently, referring to FIG. 8, the thermally conductive adhesive 400is formed on two sides of the sensing wire 230. The sensing wire 230 andthe top cover 240 protrude from the upper surface of the battery cellassembly 100. When the module case 300 is designed such that the uppersurface of the top cover 240 and the lower surface of the upper side ofthe module case 300 fit together, an empty space between the uppersurface of the battery cell assembly 100 and the lower surface of theupper side of the module case 300 is formed around an area other thanthe area where the sensing wire 230 and the top cover 240 are formed,and the thermally conductive adhesive 400 occupies that empty space.

As the sensing wire 230 is placed across the upper side of the batterycell assembly 100 in a diagonal direction, the thermally conductiveadhesive 400 formed on two sides of the sensing wire 230 may beuniformly formed on the upper side of all the battery cells 110 thatform the battery cell assembly 100. Accordingly, there is no risk thatonly some battery cells 110 are cooled due to the thermally conductiveadhesive 400 positioned at a certain place.

In the conventional battery module, a location to which the thermallyconductive adhesive may be applied is only limited to the inner surfaceof the bottom of the module case or the upper side of the cooling plate.Because a separate component such as a voltage sensing line is disposedon the upper side of the battery cell assembly, it is difficult touniformly apply the thermally conductive adhesive over the battery cellassembly around this component. In the present disclosure, as thesensing wire 230 is diagonally positioned, it is possible to uniformlyapply the thermally conductive adhesive 400 over the entire battery cellassembly 100 around the sensing wire 230. Accordingly, the presentdisclosure can address the case in which lower side cooling as well asupper side cooling is needed, and it can solve the battery cell heatgeneration problem by cooling through the upper side of the battery cellassembly. Besides, it is possible to uniformly remove heat from all thebattery cells that form the battery cell assembly through the thermallyconductive adhesive 400, and there is no likelihood that heat is notfully removed from all the battery cells and only some battery cellsdegrade fast.

There was no earlier attempt to apply the thermally conductive adhesiveto the upper side of the battery cell assembly due to the structure ofthe battery cell assembly, but the present disclosure makes it possibleby changing the structure of the sensing assembly included in thebattery cell assembly, and thus may improve the cooling performance andfirmly fix the battery cell, and this is not a matter of simple designmodification.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view illustrating a battery module according toanother embodiment of the present disclosure, and FIG. 10 is a top viewof the battery module of FIG. 9. FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view ofthe main parts illustrating injection holes of the battery module ofFIG. 9, and FIG. 12 is an enlarged diagram of section C in FIG. 11.

The battery module 20 according to this embodiment is substantially thesame as or similar to the battery module 10 of the previous embodiment,and with regard to the same or similar configuration, redundantdescriptions are omitted herein, and hereinafter difference(s) betweenthis embodiment and the previous embodiment will be primarily described.

The battery module 20 has injection holes 312 on the module case 300,i.e., in the top plate 310, to inject the thermally conductive adhesiveinto the module case 300. The injection holes 312 are included on twosides of an area corresponding to the sensing wire 230.

In the assembly process, the battery cell assembly (see 100 of FIG. 1)is received in the module case 300, and the front cover 340 and the rearcover 350 are coupled thereto. Subsequently, before the thermallyconductive adhesive injection, an operator may place the module case 300horizontally.

Subsequently, to apply the thermally conductive adhesive into the modulecase 300, the operator may insert an injection nozzle into the injectionholes 312 provided on the module case 300 and inject the thermallyconductive adhesive into the module case 300. Through this, thethermally conductive adhesive 400 may be formed on two sides of thesensing wire 230 on the upper side of the battery cell assembly 100.

Because before the injection, the module case 300 is positionedhorizontally and the thermally conductive adhesive is injected in adirection perpendicular to the ground, the thermally conductive adhesivemay be uniformly distributed in the module case 300.

Particularly, a plurality of injection holes 312 may be provided along adirection that forms an angle 0 to 30° with a direction in which thesensing wire 230 runs. The injection holes 312 provided along thedirection that forms an angle of 0 with the direction in which thesensing wire 230 runs represents the injection holes 312 being formed inparallel with the sensing wire 230. This angle may be adjusted touniformly apply the thermally conductive adhesive into the module case300.

The injection holes 312 may be spaced apart a predetermined distancefrom each other. The interval may be adjusted such that the interval isequal or gradually changes to uniformly apply the thermally conductiveadhesive into the module case 300.

A sloped chamfer 314 may be provided at one side of the plurality ofinjection holes 312—to be exact: the end exposed out of the top plate310 on the module case 300. The chamfer 314 may guide the positioning ofthe injection nozzle into the injection holes 312 for injection of thethermally conductive adhesive, and it may increase the contact area withthe injection nozzle, thereby improving sealability when mounting theinjection nozzle.

Hereinafter, simulation experiment results of the cooling performance ofthe battery module according to the present disclosure will bedescribed.

FIG. 13 is a top view of a comparative example battery module, and FIG.14 is a cross-sectional view showing the lower side cooling structure ofthe battery module of FIG. 13.

The battery module of FIG. 13 is a structure that was assumed by theinventor to compare with the present disclosure. Referring to FIG. 13,to compare with the present disclosure, the sensing wire 230′ ispositioned at a certain location with respect to the battery cellassembly 100, and the thermally conductive adhesive is not included onthe upper side of the battery cell assembly 100. A thermally conductiveadhesive 500 having a thermal conductivity of 3 W/mK is applied to thelower side of the battery cell assembly 100, the module case 300 is madeof Al, and a heat transfer path from the battery cell assembly—100 tothe thermally conductive adhesive—500 to the bottom plate 320 is formed.Because the sensing wire 230′ is only positioned at a certain location,it is impossible to apply the thermally conductive adhesive to the upperside of the battery cell assembly 100, and only lower side cooling ispossible. Simulation is performed such that the thermal resistance fromthe upper end of the battery cells 110 to the lower end of the modulecase 300, i.e., the bottom plate 320 is about 1.4K/W.

FIG. 15 is a cross-sectional view showing the upper side and lower sidecooling structures of an experimental battery module of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 15 corresponds to the battery module 10 according to an embodiment.As described previously, the sensing wire 230 is positioned in adiagonal direction across the battery cell assembly 100, and thethermally conductive adhesive 400 having a thermal conductivity of 3W/mK is also uniformly included on the upper side of the battery cellassembly 100. The thermally conductive adhesive 500 having the thermalconductivity of 3 W/mK is also applied to the lower side of the batterycell assembly 100, and the module case 300 is made of Al. Accordingly,in the experimental example of the present disclosure, a heat transferpath from the battery cell assembly—100 to the thermally conductiveadhesive—400 to the top plate 310, as shown in (a) of FIG. 15, as wellas a heat transfer path from the battery cell assembly—100 to thethermally conductive adhesive—500 to the bottom plate 320, as shown in(b), may be formed. In the case of the experimental example of thepresent disclosure, cooling through both the upper side and lower sideof the battery cell assembly is possible. Particularly, in the case ofupper side cooling, except for a local thermal performance loss at anarea in which the top cover 240 of the sensing assembly 200 is disposed,simulation is performed such that the thermal resistance from the upperend of the battery cells 110 to the upper end of the module case 300,i.e., the top plate 310, is about 0.8K/W, which is much lower than thethermal resistance of comparative example, and accordingly, it can beseen that the cooling performance is much better. Additionally, in thesame way as comparative example, because lower side cooling is added,when considering this, it can be seen that the overall thermalresistance will be further reduced to 0.8K/W or less.

FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating the battery pack according to anembodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 16, the battery pack 1 may include at least onebattery module 10 according to the previous embodiment and a pack case50 to package the at least one battery module 10.

Here, the at least one battery module may be provided as the batterymodule 20 of the previous embodiment. Additionally, it is obvious thatthe battery module may be provided as an assembly of the battery module10 and the battery module 20 of the previous embodiment. Additionally,in addition to the battery module 10 and the pack case 50, the batterypack 1 according to the present disclosure may further include varioustypes of devices for controlling the charge/discharge of the batterymodule 10, for example, a BMS, a current sensor and a fuse.

The battery pack 1 may be provided in a vehicle as a fuel source of thevehicle. For example, the battery pack 1 may be provided in an electricvehicle, a hybrid electric vehicle and other applications using thebattery pack 1 as a fuel source.

Additionally, it is obvious that the battery pack 1 may be provided inany other device, apparatus and equipment other than a vehicle, such asan Energy Storage System using a secondary battery.

The battery pack 1 according to this embodiment, and the device,apparatus and equipment including the battery pack 1, such as a vehicle,include the above-described battery module 10. Thus it is possible toimplement the battery pack 1 having all advantages of theabove-described battery module 10, as well as the device, apparatus andequipment, such as a vehicle, including the battery pack 1.

According to various embodiments as described above, it is possible toprovide the battery module 10, 20 with a larger volume of battery cells110 and a more compact size, as well as a battery pack 1 including thebattery module 10, 20 and a vehicle including the battery pack 1.

Meanwhile, the terms indicating directions as used herein, such asupper, lower, front and rear, are used for convenience of descriptiononly, and it is obvious to those skilled in the art that the term maychange depending on the position of the stated element or an observer.

While the present disclosure has been hereinabove described with regardto a limited number of embodiments and drawings, the present disclosureis not limited thereto, and it is obvious to those skilled in the artthat various modifications and changes may be made thereto within thetechnical aspects of the present disclosure and the equivalent scope ofthe appended claims.

1. A battery module comprising: a battery cell assembly including astack of a plurality of battery cells; a module case which receives thebattery cell assembly therein; an electrical wire extending along anouter side of the battery cell assembly and positioned between the outerside of the battery cell assembly and an opposing inner surface of themodule case; and a thermally conductive adhesive interposed between theouter side of the battery cell assembly and the opposing inner surfaceof the module case, the thermally conductive adhesive extending over aregion of the outer side of the battery cell assembly, wherein theelectrical wire extends across the region of the outer surface of thebattery cell assembly so as to separate the region into a first area anda second area on respective opposing sides of the wire, and wherein thethermally conductive adhesive covers the first area and the second areawithout extending over the wire.
 2. The battery module according toclaim 1, wherein the electrical wire is a sensing wire for sensingvoltage or temperature of the battery cell assembly.
 3. The batterymodule according to claim 1, wherein the electrical wire extends betweenand connects a first busbar frame assembly positioned at a first end ofthe battery cell assembly and a second busbar frame assembly positionedat a second end of the battery cell assembly, the second end beingopposite to the first end, and wherein the electrical wire extends fromthe first end to the second end of the battery cell assembly.
 4. Thebattery module according to claim 3, wherein the electrical wire extendsalong a direction oriented obliquely to an axis extending between thefirst and second ends of the battery cell assembly.
 5. The batterymodule according to claim 1, wherein the battery cell assembly definesan axis extending between a first end and an opposing second end of thebattery cell assembly, wherein each of the plurality of battery cells ofthe battery cell assembly has a first electrode lead protrudingtherefrom at the first end and a second electrode lead protrudingtherefrom at the second end, the first and second electrode leads havingopposite polarity to one another.
 6. The battery module according toclaim 5, wherein the electrical wire extends along a direction orientedobliquely to the axis
 7. The battery module according to claim 1,wherein the battery cell assembly has a longitudinal axis, theelectrical wire extending along a direction oriented obliquely to thelongitudinal axis.
 8. The battery module of claim 1, wherein theplurality of battery cells in the stack are stacked along a stackingaxis, the electrical wire extending along a direction oriented obliquelyto the stacking axis.
 9. The battery module according to claim 1,wherein the module case further includes: a top plate covering an upperside of the battery cell assembly; a bottom plate positioned facing thetop plate and covering a lower side of the battery cell assembly; a pairof side plates coupled to the top and bottom plates and positioned onrespective opposing sides of the battery cell assembly, such that themodule case defines a first opening and a second opening at a front anda rear of the battery cell assembly, respectively; and a front cover anda rear cover, the front cover covering the front of the battery cellassembly at the first opening, and the rear cover covering the rear ofthe battery cell assembly at the second opening.
 10. The battery moduleaccording to claim 9, wherein the outer side of the battery cellassembly along which the electrical wire extends and over which thethermally conductive adhesive extends is the upper side of the batterycell assembly.
 11. The battery module according to claim 10, furthercomprising: a second region of the thermally conductive adhesiveinterposed the lower side of the battery cell assembly and a lower innersurface of the module case.
 12. The battery module according to claim 1,wherein the electrical wire is provided as a flexible printed circuitboard (FPCB).
 13. The battery module according to claim 12, furthercomprising: a top cover which covers the flexible printed circuit board.14. The battery module according to claim 13, wherein the top cover hasa first hook and a second hook at opposing first and second ends of thetop cover, wherein a first busbar frame assembly positioned at a firstend of the battery cell assembly has a first fixing hole for receivingthe first hook, and wherein a second busbar frame assembly positioned ata second end of the battery cell assembly has a second fixing hole forreceiving the second hook, the first and second hooks being coupled tothe respective first and second fixing holes.
 15. The battery moduleaccording to claim 1, further comprising: a plurality of injection holesin the module case for injecting the thermally conductive adhesive intothe module case, the injection holes being positioned over both thefirst area and the second area.
 16. The battery module according toclaim 15, wherein the plurality of injection holes include a pluralityof first injection holes aligned along a first line and a plurality ofsecond injection holes aligned along a second line, the first and secondlines being parallel and extending along a direction which forms anangle of 0° to 30° with respect to a direction along which theelectrical wire runs.
 17. The battery module according to claim 15,wherein each of the injection holes includes a sloped chamfer at atleast one end of the respective injection hole.
 18. A battery packcomprising: at least one battery module according to claim 1; and a packcase which receives the at least one battery module therein.
 19. Avehicle comprising at least one battery pack according to claim 18.